Injury injured in Connecticut high school hockey player sparks movement that requires neck guards

WHITE PLAINS, New York (WABC) – The tragic story of the death of a high school hockey player could lead to an extensive sports safety lesson.

The tragedy has created an unexpected sales boom.

The neck protectors have been sold out at hockey equipment stores such as Peck’s Skate Shop in White Plains. Even the owner’s sons are wearing them now.

“The 9-year-old certainly started using one this weekend … he’s fighting me, but he started using it,” said store owner Mark Pecchia.

Some complain that the collars made of kevlar are uncomfortable – they are designed to prevent neck wounds from skateboarding blades.

An online campaign is now underway to make them a must-have, which could have saved Teddy Balkind’s life.

A 10th grader from New Canaan, Connecticut, died last week when he was accidentally beaten.

“Everything he did made it a smile on his face, he always put others in front of him,” petition organizer Sam Brande said.

Brande was a friend of Balkind’s and started Change.org’s appeal to USA Hockey.
Some leagues require neck guards. But others, like the private school in Connecticut where Balkind played, are just suggesting players use them.

“I’m not claiming the guard saved his life, it just feels like it could have been an avoidable accident and it was a completely strange accident that no one has to blame, and it feels like we wouldn’t have had to experience it if there was already a rule, “Brande said.

While some youth coaches say an injury like the one suffered by Balkind is very rare, they acknowledge that some form of protection is better than nothing and say more information is needed to see if the equipment is effective.

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“If they’re uncomfortable or uncomfortable for players, how can we redesign them so that they’re more likely to be worn and more likely to protect skaters, and that’s a risk we all take every day,” youth coach Matthew Cook said.

So far, more than 50,000 people have signed the petition, but the target number is zero – because a similar incident is being prevented from happening again.

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